Pitt's Wannnstedt gets two-year extension
-
Pitt head football coach Dave Wannstedt answers questions during a news conference Tuesday. Wannstedt signed a two-year extension.
Share with others:
In a move Dave Wannstedt hopes will reinforce the Pitt football program's stability to recruits, the Panthers' coach has signed a two-year extension that will keep him under contract through the end of the 2014 season.
"It is important obviously from a stability standpoint that these parents know that with so much instability out there now and so many crazy things happening in the sporting world that if my son goes there, this is the head coach that's going to be with them," Wannstedt, 57, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon at the South Side football complex after the university announced the signing.
A former Pitt player, Wannstedt said he followed the program while coaching in the NFL and noticed how some coaches used the Pitt job as a stepping stone to higher profile positions.
"That whole mentality is gone," he said. "I think the recruits know and their parents know and the high school coaches know that I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. I've said that from day one, and I haven't wavered from that."
Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson said that in an "era of uncertainty," it is important to let those working in the program know that the university supports them.
"The contract extension is really an indication of a mutual commitment to one another," Pederson said.
He declined to disclose the terms of the agreement or say whether the extension increases Wannstedt's pay.
"We have always tried to compensate our coaches fairly and make sure that they're competitive," Pederson said.
He said this is not "earth-shattering news" -- Wannstedt knew the university wanted to extend his contract, and Pederson said it did not happen sooner simply because Wannstedt was busy recruiting.
First Published March 31, 2010 12:03 am
